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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. mark — a grade
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. craft — a skill
  8. craft — boats
  9. last — final
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. last — finally
  12. last — to go on
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. chair — a leader
  15. sharp — clever
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. bat — the animal
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. staff — a stick
  20. staff — employees
  21. staff — employees
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. date — the fruit
  24. mark — a trace

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com